


The Inevitable Crash Of A Mother

by GothMoth



Series: Phantom Phang Phucking Phreaking Phantastical Phabulous Phic Phight Phics 1.0 (The 2019 Edition Revamped) [20]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Angst, Assault, Attempted Murder, Blood and Gore, Electrocution, Episode: s02e08-09 The Ultimate Enemy, Gen, Horror, I Mean Dan Is Here So Violence Is A Given, Identity Reveal, Maddie Is Having A BAD TIME, Mutilation, Psychological Torture, Reveal, TUE Rewrite, Trauma, Violence, graphic depictions of death, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29709159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothMoth/pseuds/GothMoth
Summary: Parents are our first mentors but does a mother ever really know her son? And can they really handle the lives that their children lead? Especially when the inevitable worst nightmare comes knocking.
Series: Phantom Phang Phucking Phreaking Phantastical Phabulous Phic Phight Phics 1.0 (The 2019 Edition Revamped) [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994581
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	The Inevitable Crash Of A Mother

**Author's Note:**

> Previously: 9,240k

Maddie finally hears Danny come home, how he always gets in through his window she’s not sure she’ll ever know. But he is having supper tonight, even if it’s one a.m. 

Walking up the steps, Maddie knocks on his door, “sweetie, I know you’re in there. You haven’t had supper for a week; so come down and eat. Okay?”. Maddie waits till she hears moving around and a quietly muttered, “okay”, to head back to the kitchen. She nukes Danny’s supper while he scrambles to make himself presentable (and human).

Danny takes the steps slowly before he heads into the kitchen, watching his mom plate his food, “you really didn’t have to, I’m fine”. 

Maddie shakes her head at him, “nonsense, you need to eat Danny”. She pushes the food to him, waiting for him to sit down before sitting down herself with her own food. 

Danny blinks at this a few times while Maddie smiles. He squints at her plate a little, “did you? Wait to eat yours? For me?”. Maddie sighs and nods, “I want to have supper _with you,_ Danny, not just Jack and Jazz. But the whole family, family dinners are important and if I have to wait around sometimes then so be it”. 

Danny can’t help but tear up a little and blink his eyes rapidly, “well uh, I’m sorry for making you wait so much”. 

Maddie just shakes her head knowing full well she won’t get the answers from him that she wants, but she can tell that he doesn’t really _want_ to lie either. He just has to, for some reason. Maddie’s mental ramblings are cut off by Danny’s sudden coughing fit, and she can immediately see the concern flash on his face before he hides it. She sees why he was concerned before he can move to cover it up, “Danny! Oh my god! Are you coughing up? Ectoplasm?”. 

Danny moves to go to the sink to wash it off but Maddie grabs his hand, pulling it away from his mouth. She can see the ectoplasm puddled in his hand and streaked on his lips and cheek; glowing faintly. 

Danny blinks rapidly, not quite sure what to do, he slowly moves his head over to the sink and tries to move his hand too but Maddie is gripping too hard for him to get away. “Uh, could I ma-”, getting cut off by more coughing, which he goes to cover up with his other hand. This seems to jolt Maddie out of her shocked stupor, as she moves to help him clean up. She does so silently, watching Danny, as he runs his ectoplasm splattered hands under the tap water. 

Danny completely avoids meeting her eyes as he wipes ectoplasm off his mouth. Only to start coughing more, muttering, “crap, god damnit”, as he washes the new ectoplasm down the drain, leaning both his arms on the sink ledge, he watches the green mess swirl down the drain.

Maddie glances from the glow illuminating the sink faintly to Danny’s tilted down face, hair covering his eyes, “D-Danny, why, why are you coughing... ectoplasm? Do I, do you, need to be decontaminated or something? How did, how did this even happen? Why?”, Maddie is shaking slightly, knowing that even with extremely high levels of ecto-contamination this shouldn’t be possible. She shakes her head at him, freaked out, “how, how could you have pure, pure ectoplasm? Inside you?”. 

Danny groans slightly from his injuries but looks back at his mom, who can see that he’s feeling weak. “I, uh, the explanation uh, um-”, is all he gets out before having to turn back and cough into the sink some more.

Maddie looks around and quickly gets a chair, forcing him to sit down as she goes and grabs one for herself. Scooting down next to him, “Danny, something, something is really wrong. This, this isn’t normal. But you-you’re acting like, like it _is_ ”. Maddie shakes her head harshly as Danny fiddles with his thumbs. 

Danny opens and closes his mouth a few times before finding the words, “it’s, uh, not. Not normal that is, the coughing. But the, uh, ectoplasm. Is, normal. For me, anyways”. Maddie shakes her head and stumbles over her words, “that, that’s just not. Not possible, Danny. How could, how could that even be? Be possible? It doesn’t make any sense, how? Why? I don’t, get it?”. Danny rubs his neck nervously and gulps, knowing there’s no real way out of this, “it’s a long explanation. Sorta. More like... one I am not or was not, like, ready to give. To you. Or dad”. Danny shakes his head a bit aggressively, “no, that’s not quite true. I did- do want to but, like, how? I didn’t and still don’t know, really. I’m rather secretive and protective of it, I guess. Or maybe it’s reactions, I don’t know. Finding the words?”. Danny shrugs stiffly and mutters, “I’m rambling”. 

Maddie puts her arms up on the counter and stares at her hands, “I don’t understand, you can trust us, trust us with anything. I can’t say how I will... _react_. But you’re my son, _always_. I just, this scares me. This can’t be healthy”. Maddie shakes her head though she does notice a small smile on Danny’s face, which makes her worried that he genuinely thinks she might react horribly. So she speaks up again before Danny can, “I swear, Danny, sweetie. No matter what I will not hate you or reject, you. You are _my son_ ”. Maddie doesn’t like that Danny’s smile looks sad. 

“I, can’t say I believe you. But, I’ll try. But-”, Danny gets cut off by more coughing. “Ugh, this is just going to keep going if I don’t-”, Danny cuts himself off as he grabs his stomach and looks to his mom sheepishly, “I’m guessing you, uh, aren’t going to let me go to the bathroom?”. Maddie shakes her head rapidly at him, “no, whatever it is you need, to do. You can do it here, right?”.

Danny can see the pleading in her eyes and _technically_ he can, so with a sigh, “I could. I just, will make a bit of a, uh, mess”. Danny winces at Maddie’s deeply concerned and rather horrified facial expression, she tries to compose herself a bit before speaking,“the counter, it can, afford a... mess”. 

Danny tries to remember what in all is actually in the first aid kits that regular humans can access in the house, and fails miserably, “err well, uh, I’ll need somethings”. Maddie gets up slowly and a bit numb as she nods, looking to him to tell her what to get, “okay, uh, god this is awkward. Uh, this is going to sound bad so, um, try not to freak. Well, bandaging, Hagedorn needle, and ectoline”. Danny internally winces at his own words as he watches his mom look more and more horrified. 

Maddie eyes are watering a bit and she stumbles over her words again, talking in a soft voice, “stitching, you’re asking for, things to, to. To _stitch you_ , stitch you up. Danny? You’re hurt? How do you? Even _know_ , what Hagedorn needles, are?”, Maddie goes wide-eyed as something clicks, “oh god, you’ve, you've been stitching, _yourself_ ”, blinking and furrowing her brows slightly, “‘Ectoline’? Why? But that makes no-why?”. Danny has visibly shrunk in his chair, “regular stuff, doesn't, like, _work_. On me, anyways. But, uh, yes I have been. Doing that. Err, so could you? Get it?”. Danny asks again awkwardly as Maddie just nods and stiffly walks off to the more serious medical supply box. 

Danny winds up coughing more as he pulls himself up onto the counter, aided a bit by his floating. Though not daring to use it in genuine in case his mom sees and freaks out more, muttering “of all the nights, to get a bad one. It has to be, tonight”. Danny groans as he gets himself settled and as Maddie comes back, stuff in tow. 

“You are, you are _not_ doing this yourself. I’m the mom, I do it. I do the patching up”, Maddie gives a commanding nod that fails to hide her freaked insides as she sets everything out on the table. While her back is turned, Danny takes the chance to lift up his t-shirt and inspect the wound, hoping to be able to get any possible ectoplasm off before she sees it. Looking down he realises it’s actually worse than he thought, and still seeping a halfas unique mixture of red and green. Him muttering, “shit”, as his prodding reveals there’s still something stuck in there.

Maddie spins around at hearing him, worried he’s having another cough fit or worse, she was not prepared for the worse, “Danny! Oh my god, your- your _stomach_. How did, oh god Danny, how are you? _Danny_?”. 

Danny quickly yanks down his shirt, knowing full well this kind of wound would kill a human. He blinks at his mom, not entirely sure what she’s asking, “I, uh, didn’t quite get that and, uh, I’m going to need, some, err. A pair of tongs”. Maddie doesn’t even take her eyes off him as she lifts up kitchen tongs from the drawer tilting her head. “Uh, not what I meant but it’ll do”, Maddie shivers as she looks from the tongs to Danny and Danny clues in that she’s pretty much asking what he wants her to do. Instantly knowing there is no way he wants his mom, especially this freaked out, digging around in his insides, “uh, no, I really should do that. Um, god this is going to sound awful. But uh, I’ll do less damage than you. I can, well, feel where it is so...”, Danny trails off as he holds his hand out for the kitchen device. 

Maddie looks from him to the tongs again, “are you, are you sure?”. At Danny’s soft but sure nod Maddie hands it over.

Danny takes it gingerly as Maddie just stares, which is really not something he wants her doing, “uh, I’d rather you not watch”. Maddie makes a show of crossing her arms and shaking her head, making it clear that she’s not looking away even if she’s shaking. Danny fidgeting, “well, at least sit down then”. 

Maddie nods and dutifully sits down as Danny shifts around a bit, getting a better feel for where the electrical spike box and metal balls are. He only really needs the rubber-ended tongs for the box, as he’d really rather not get electrocuted any further. Danny angles the tongs so that he can shove them just under his right side ribs, only grunting faintly as he rummages a little in his mid-torso before getting the tongs around the box. Pulling it out slowly, spikes cutting him up a bit more as he does so. He drops it on the towel he’s sitting on, instead of the metal sink. He doesn’t look up at his mom, whom he’s sure is pale and freaked, as he puts the tongs in the sink and fetches out the little metal balls with his bare hands. Placing all thirteen next to him as well. 

Bleeding much more heavily now he looks up at his mom, who is indeed very pale and clutching her chair. Danny gives a very quiet request of, “please don’t pass out”, to her as he turns on the tap with his wrists to clean his fingers off. 

Turning off the tap, he points to the needle and ectoline, “I, uh, need that now”. Maddie blinks her eyes a bunch, watering hard. As she shakily threads the needle, “I, Danny, you, I”. Maddie shakes her head as she finds she can’t put it into words. She shakily moves her chair close enough to him that she can stitch him up without standing. 

Danny leans back on his hands and looks away from her face, “I know it’s bad, I know it looks weird. But I’ll be fine, I swear. I just, need to stop bleeding. Stitching does that, helps healing”. Maddie shakily starts and it’s slow going. Stitching up all the holes and she has to stop every so often to force her shaking to lessen. Danny could have done it in a third the time but he isn’t going to push her. 

Maddie, still shaking, puts down the needle and ectoline as she goes to wrap him in the bandaging. 

Eventually, Maddie stares at Danny’s torso as he pats down the bandaging, “that’s just fine, I’ll be okay. Um, Sorry?”. Maddie looks up incredulously to Danny’s face at the ‘sorry’, “Danny, what? How did this even? How often have you done this? Why, why is your blood, like that? There’s, ectoplasm? In it?”. 

Danny nods and slowly slides off the table, getting back into his chair, sitting across from his mom, “I, know. It’s normal for me. It was a ghost, and I, uh, this is worse than the, um, usual”. Danny rubs his neck, glancing at his mom from time to time nervously. While Maddie is shifting in her seat, “Danny, that’s horrible. And how-how could this possibly, be, normal? Do I need to, do you need to cleanse? Or something?”. Shaking her head, “what, what ghost? Are they still out there?”.

Danny can tell she’s more comfortable with the ghost topic, which he’s not sure if he likes, “mom, no. If you or if I remove it or stop my body from making it. Yes my body, it makes its own, ectoplasm. Um, I would die, same as if, all my human blood was removed. And the ghost is dealt with. Don’t worry about that”. 

Maddie shakes her head a bunch, “How? How could that even, be possible? Ectoplasm? And blood? They shouldn’t even be able to, coexist?”. Danny can’t help but chuckle at that, “welcome to my life. I don’t know how to exactly explain it, but. Like, the ectoplasm makes my blood more-”, Danny cuts himself off to clear his throat and steady his courage, “-makes my human blood more mailable and functionally protects it from being destroyed. Like, if something was killing me or technically should, the ectoplasm would basically absorb the impact or problem. Healing me, saving me. That’s why I’ll be okay, even though the wound looks bad. I’ll be fine in about three days”. 

Danny shifts again and shakes his head at his mom as she opens her mouth, “it’s, uh, better you just let me finish. Um sorry”. Maddie nods as Danny clears his throat again, “so my human blood also helps my ectoplasm, it stabilises it and feeds it nutrients. So you know how normally stuff with ectoplasm, ghosts, ghost stuff etc, can’t exist outside the GZ for long? Well, my blood negates that problem for my ectoplasm. So it’s mutually beneficial”. Danny stops and rubs his neck, nodding at his mom to ask away.

“But, sweetie, that still shouldn’t be possible, how? Ectoplasm, it’s dead? Human blood, isn’t?”. 

Danny smiles faintly and nods, “that’s true yeah, it’s because of my genetics. My DNA. it’s, well, it’s a fusion. And, this is kind of the part, the thing I’ve been keeping a secret”. Maddie blinks confused and still freaked out, “fusion? Of what? I’m-I’m pretty sure your DNA was normal, when you, when you were born?”. 

Danny nods again and pats her hand lightly, “uh, yeah it was but well, um, you remember when I got that little zap from the portal? When it spontaneously turned on?”, at Maddie’s nervious nod Danny continues, “well, I lied. I was inside of it, I turned it on, on accident but, still. When it turned on it basically changed my DNA. It infused me with ectoplasm. To put it, to put it bluntly, I half died”. Danny says the last bit looking away from her, not really wanting to see her reaction. He does hear her gasp and feel that her hand is shaking more, though he’s still looking away from her, “basically, I, me, I am half human and half ghost. We, we’re, my species I guess, are called halfas. There’s not, like, a lot of us. But we exist”. 

No one says anything for a while, Danny simply waits for Maddie, “Danny, our stuff did, did this? But I, this still shouldn’t, this shouldn’t be possible. You, you’re half... _dead_?”. Maddie eyes go wide as she understands, “half-ghost, half-ghost, that’s why you-you we’re afraid of telling us. Because we hunt ghosts, and you, you’re part one”, her quickly looking more sad than anything else, “oh god Danny, sweetie, I, we would _never_. You-”, giving his hand a little supportive squeeze, “-you’re my son. I don’t understand how, but still. _You’re my son_ ”. 

Maddie can physically see and hear Danny exhale deeply, and sees a soft but shaky smile on his face as he speaks, “that means a lot, to me, it really does. It wasn’t just being worried about being hunted, but of you guys, trying to, fix me”, he shifts around a little but sounds far more confident, “I’m okay, I don’t need to be fixed. I’m not a science experiment and the government can’t know, about me. And I don’t blame you for the accident, I’ll be honest, it was my own fault, but I would do it again in a heartbeat. Even if it was the most painful thing ever. Even if it changed my life drastically and everything else”. Danny has turned back to face his mom and puts both his hands on hers, as he smiles at her. She looks back at him teary-eyed, “are you sure? You really are okay? Happy? Being half ghost? Half dead? And we, we still made the portal”. 

“And I’m glad you did. I’ll admit, I’m fond of the portal, in a way it gave me life, or my half-life, as it is. I wouldn’t have myself any other way. It’s just part of who I am, now and always. While I may get hurt, while I may have enemies now, while the government would destroy me if they knew; I’m happier now than ever before. My life is better too, even if it’s more stressful, tiring, and complicated”, Danny sighs fondly and makes sure his mom can see that fondness. 

Maddie studies his face and can tell he is being honest, that he really means what he says, “god Danny, I don’t get it but, but I’m glad that you, you’re happy”, shifting she rubs his hands, “I don’t like you saying you have enemies, and the government? What?”. Danny nods and takes back one hand to rub his neck, “I’m glad to hear that and I know, I have more enemies than friends and they kind of know me better than you or dad”, cringing, “which I know is bad, but, it’s what it is. And yeah, the GIW really wants me either as a test subject or dead”.

Maddie looks completely freaked again, “Danny? How are you? Okay, with that? And what could these enemies know that I don’t yet know?”. Danny shrugs, “it’s just my life? I sort of made enemies out of them by fighting them. Besides we get along well sometimes. The Christmas truce is pretty much the thing that got me okay with Christmas again. Plasmius is really the only one I truly hate. But these enemies know pretty well everything about me. You, well, don’t. You know I’m a halfa now yeah, but there’s so _so_ much more. Uh, sorry”. 

Maddie sighs sadly, “was the ghost that hurt you? Was it one of these, these enemies?”. Danny nods, “one of my main ones yes. This is going to sound awful but I just find it kind of gross, which might also sound awful. But, well, his big thing is that he wants to skin me and hang my pelt at the foot of his bed because halfas are rare”. 

Maddie looks like she wants to vomit and is starting to become completely horrified of the life her son is living, “Danny, that, that is _beyond_ horrible. I can’t get how you could be okay, okay with _that_ ”.

Danny shrugs, “and I guess I can’t really explain. But I know part of how Sam and Tuck describe it is, that I’m overly self-sacrificial. Content to damn myself to help others”, tilting his head slightly, “but also I guess, it’s also because I have ghost nature. You don’t”. 

Maddie blinks but nods after a beat, “so they know too? And yeah, I guess, that makes sense. You must think, think a bit differently”. Danny nods, “they were there, for the accident. So they always knew. And yeah I imagine my brain, like everything else, works a bit differently”.

Danny gets up and puts a hand on her shoulder, “I think we both should sleep, this has been a lot. A lot of nerves for me, and a lot of information for you. And I can tell you’re not handling it very well, so I don’t want to overload you”. Maddie nods as she follows him upstairs, she doesn’t like how he leans against the wall as he walks. “Good Night mom, and thanks”. 

Maddie shakes her head at him and hugs him gingerly, “no, I think I should be, thanking you. Even if I don’t know how to handle this”.

* * *

The next morning, Danny wakes up and stretches out. Hopping down the stairs, he stops when he sees his mom, who clearly is still tired. Sighing, “please tell me you slept?”. Maddie smiles softly, “a little, was kind of hard to do though”. Danny nods, “yeah, I’m used to sleeping small amounts or after a crazy situation. You’re not, uh, sorry?”. 

Maddie shakes her head, “you shouldn’t be and I’m glad to know, even if I don’t get it”, Maddie straightens up a bit, “but I meant what I said, you’re my son, no matter what and I won’t hunt you, ever. If anything in the house is hurting you please tell me, okay?”. Danny sighs sadly, “everything that hurts a ghost hurts me, just less. And well, the ghost catcher thing has caused me a lot of headaches. That, the boomerang, ghost grabber, and Spector deflector, are the ones that have caused me hassle but they’ve also be super useful. So...”. Danny shrugs exaggeratedly but then gets awkward again, “but I hate to say this, and I don’t blame you, at all; you didn’t know. But you _have_ hunted me”. 

Maddie goes wide-eyed and stammers, “w-what!? When? And, god, are you _sure_ there’s nothing, nothing you want me t-to get rid of? Oh god Danny, when have I ever? God, I’m _so sorry_ ”. 

Danny winces a bit as she talks, sighing a little as he pours himself some cereal, “you didn’t know it was me, so there are no hard feelings; really. Heck, I kind of made jokes about it. So it’s okay”, shrugging, “I mean sure, I’d rather you not but, it’s not like you’ve ever done me real damage. Couple electrocutions, some burns; that’s it. But pretty much all your stuff is useful in some way”, tilting his head, “except the ghost gabber, but that one’s harmless just annoying”. Danny sits down with a smile, hoping his mom reads it as him being perfectly fine and genuinely not bothered by being hunted. Maddie looks like she’s going to cry, so Danny speaks up again, “mom, if it ever was bad or I couldn’t tolerate it; I would have told you”.

Maddie shakes her head, “you shouldn’t have had to, god, tolerate it, _at all_. How could I? Not know, it was you? How does that?”. Danny sighs, “yeah there’s a reason you didn’t, no one really does. It’s a, halfa thing”, taking a breath quickly and eating a bit more, “basically, my body has two, rather than one, natural states of being. I just call them forms. My human one, that you know. And my ghost one, that you also know, but I look different”. 

Danny manages to finish his cereal before his mom has figured out what to say, “that also sounds, impossible. How? And just _how_ different? I, god, I’m going to need to see this”. Danny nods understandingly, though he’s more than a little nervous, “the ‘how’ is oddly simple. It’s based on whichever species set of my DNA is active or ‘on top’, so to speak. I have control over which one and can switch at will, but if one side gets too weak I’ll automatically change to the other”, shrugging as he continues, “so if say, I lost too much blood or got a really nasty wound my human side couldn’t deal with, my body would switch on its own to ghost. Or if I used too much ectoplasmic energy I would change to human”.

Maddie blinks a bit and breathes slowly, “so you, you have two bodies? Or can completely alter your makeup on command?”, blinking at his nod, “sweetie that’s insane”, furrowing her brows and paling a little bit, “wait, are you saying, that wound. Last night? Wasn’t bad enough? For you to change?”. 

Danny rubs his neck sheepishly, “at the point you saw it, no it wasn’t. I got the wound in ghost form, and I heal faster that way. So the wound was around a third healed. But no, originally my human side couldn’t deal with it, but I knew that so I stayed ghost for a while. Didn’t bother trying to change, was just going to sleep as a ghost but then supper happened. And I wouldn’t call them different bodies, just the same body in different states. Like how water can become ice and vice versa”. Maddie shakes her head and stares at her hands, “that’s still insane. I guess, I’m sorry for interrupting your healing? But, ice and water? That just, just sounds so... _simple_ ”.

Danny can’t help but chuckle a bit, but clears his throat at seeing his moms’ concerned face, “for me it is that simple. Ice and water, human and ghost, heads and tails on coin. That’s it, like having a switch in your body. And don’t worry, I’m used to interruptions and I still heal fine; just slower”. Reading the worry on his mom’s face and how she’s eyeballing his torso, “I’m guessing you want to see? My healing or ghost form? Both I guess”, he finishes with a neck rub. Maddie nods and points to his abdomen, “I think, I want to make sure you really are, okay. First”. 

Danny nods, taking off his shirt. Looking at Maddie for a second before deciding to just phase off the bandages, knowing the ectoline will stay put. Maddie jumps as the bandages just seem to fall through her son, making Danny wince a little, “sorry, it’s just easier that way. Pain-free too”. 

Maddie gets up and walks around to him, he stands up so she can get a good look and see that he’s indeed okay. Pretty much forgetting about his peppering of scars, scars that would actually be visible to her in the daylight. He gets reminded though, when she traces a finger across a nasty one on his shoulder. Danny blushes and cringes a little, “oh yeah, err, might have forgotten that my chest ain’t the prettiest thing. Before you ask, yeah I get hurt a lot and yes, I’m okay”, Danny looks her right in the eyes so she knows he’s serious. 

Maddie rubs some tearing from her eyes, “I don’t get how you, how you could be”. Looking down to the wound from last night she gasps, “this looks months old, Danny? You heal? This fast?”. Danny nods and stretches his left arm over his head, “yeah and I’ll have to take out the stitching sooner rather than later. Not for a few hours though”.

Maddie watches as Danny rubs along some of the stitching, clearly inspecting it. Even she knows the stitching wasn’t well done, but Danny doesn’t comment on that. Maddie touches some of the glowing stitching herself, “why did it have to be ectoline, again? It’s creepy seeing glowing stitching that should really be bad, for you. But it’s not?”. Danny blinks and nods, “well, I can’t phase through ectoline. If I used regular stitching it would quite literally fall out of me, like how the bandaging just did. I can be bad for using my ghost powers on instinct or accidentally sometimes”. He can’t help but rub his neck sheepishly at that and feel rather embarrassed over his first few months.

Maddie looks confused for a second, “wait, you mean you can, do everything ghosts can? How? A human body shouldn’t be able to? How are you so impossible?”. Danny chuckles, “yes I can, it’s because of the ectoplasm. The ghost abilities are part of it and regardless of form I always have both human blood and ghost ectoplasm. But they’re harder to use and weaker when I’m human”. Danny thinks for a second, “well wait, not all ghosts have the exact same powers. Most have at least one unique one, so far I don’t but I’m not exactly normal”. Maddie nods, knowing he’s right on that, “and these, powers, don’t scare you? I would be terrified if I could suddenly walk through things or float”. Maddie involuntarily shivers as if to prove a point.

Danny just shrugs, “they’re part of me, startling at first yes, but they’re mine. Honestly, what was startling wasn’t having them but rather not having _control_ over them. Took a while to get a handle on them. More frustrating than anything else though”. Maddie shakes her head in disbelief, “I’d be terrified”. Danny sighs and nods, “well you already had opinions on ghosts, I really didn’t. Plus, it’s kind of like being a superhero and I am a kid”. Danny can’t help but snicker to himself, “with the superpower of death”. But coughs awkwardly as Maddie looks a bit more freaked, “okay maybe that wasn’t the best time for a joke”. 

Maddie nods her head, “I really don’t get how you can be so okay, but I think I should see how this, ghost you, looks?”. Danny is instantly more nervous, “you’re not going to be happy but yeah, you really should”. 

Danny thinks for a second and decides he’ll take it slow rather than just changing all at once, let her see his rings. 

Maddie just watches her son silently, sitting across from him and kind of terrified of what she’ll see. 

“Okay, so my change is signalled by these rings”, with that Danny lets his rings come out of his body and hang around his waist. Not letting them spread apart just yet. Maddie blinks a couple times at the brightness, “is it safe? To touch?”. At Danny’s nod she sticks her hand gingerly in and shivers at the cold. Pulling her hand back, looking from the rings to Danny, “cold, why?”. 

Danny shrugs, “I don’t have all the answers, anyways, one goes down to my feet and the other goes up past my head. Changing me as it goes”.

With that Danny let’s the rings split apart, not going too fast but not going remotely slow either. Leaving Danny Phantom sitting in front of his mom. Maddie has to steady herself on her chair and pretty much can’t think. So Danny runs his fingers through his white hair and talks, “like I said, you won’t be happy. But this is me, always was. So like I said, you didn’t know, that I was me”. 

Maddie goes to get up but stumbles and Danny has to grab her arms to catch her, “you okay? Well, no obviously not. But you get what I mean, right?”. Maddie nods, grabbing his left arm to further steady herself. She rubs the jumpsuit on his arm and just stares, while Danny talks, “yeah, it’s the jumpsuit you guys made for me, just colour inverted; like my hair. I was wearing it when I went into the portal. So it’s what I half died in, making it my ghost clothing. It heals like skin, though I can sort of take it off”.

He proves this by lifting up a hand and taking off his glove, showing the normal ghostly glowing skin underneath. Letting go of the glove, it dissolves into floating ectoplasm and dissipates in the air, Maddie mutters, “just like normal ectoplasm”. 

Danny nods as he makes a mini set of rings over his hand, reforming his glove. “You okay with me changing back? It’s kind of hard to not float about in ghost form unless I’m weakened”. At Maddie’s nod he changes back. Maddie tilts her head, “it’s the same, both ways”. Danny nods as he helps her sit back down.

“I know this is a lot, especially after last night being a lot. But this is my normal. Flying, fighting ghosts, setting off detectors, trying to stay awake in class, ditching class to be the hero, witty batter, bad puns, letting Dash beat me up even though I could probably kill him, etc”. Maddie flinches at the last bit, “I guess, I guess you really could, couldn’t you?”. Danny nods with a frown, “but I would never. Being able isn’t the same as being willing. Hell, Dash could probably kill most of the kids at school himself. Even if he does like to hurt people, even he wouldn’t go that far”. Maddie hugs Danny then, “good, you’re still my son, but this will take some time”. Danny nods and smiles fondly at her, “I’ve had nearly a year to get used to it. Same for Sam and Tuck, so I get it”.

Maddie heads down to the lab for some much-needed time doing her normal, working on ghost gadgets. While Jazz pops into the kitchen to have lunch herself. She can’t help but grunt and wince as she watches Danny study or more so guesses, for the CAT. 

* * *

Maddie is toying away in the lab when she hears a bunch of banging and crashing, running up the steps to the mild disaster zone in the kitchen. Maddie meets Jazz’s frazzled but not surprised face, “Jazz, where’s Danny? What happened?!”. Jazz looks around quickly before answering, “Danny tripped and then said he had to meet up with his friends. I’m going to listen to the news while cleaning up, you can go back to the lab, it’s fine”. She doesn’t head back down though, as Jazz flicks on the tv.

Maddie watches as the news broadcasts the fight between Phantom and a strange child ghost. Maddie can’t help but go wide-eyed as the entire place just explodes. And it takes Jazz mere seconds to clue into why her mom looks worried and a bit horrified, “you know don’t you?”. Causing Maddie’s head to snap towards her, she just nods. So Jazz speaks up again, “well, he’ll be fine. Always is. He doesn’t know I know. You?”. Maddie blinks at her, “he doesn’t know you know? How? He told me, so?”. Jazz looks genuinely excited and happy, “good for him! I’m glad you accepted him, pretty sure it would be bad for him if you didn’t. Don’t worry about him too much, he’s good and I’m proud of him. You should be too, he does a lot of good. But I saw him transform accidentally, he doesn’t know I saw”. Jazz smiles fondly as she watches Danny get up and remove some food off himself before heading to her room. Maddie just nods numbly as Phantom vanishes into thin air on tv. 

Danny’s home in about an hour, Sam and Tuck both glaring at him while he looks pretty damn pleased with himself. Maddie sticks her head out of the kitchen as the three come in, “you all right sweetie?”. Danny blinks a couple times, having forgotten in the heat and weirdness of the previous fight, about his mom knowing, “oh, yeah I’m fine. Nasty Burger's hot sauce is just way more explosive than I thought”. 

Sam and Tucker now give Danny confused and surprised looks, as he turns to them, “she knows now guys, just very very recently so, uh, don’t unload. Yeah?”. Maddie smiles a bit weakly and awkwardly at Sam and Tucker, who both look even more surprised and then protective.

Sam’s the first to speak, “you better not be giving him shit, Danny’s special and special’s good”. Tucker nods in agreement though less aggressively. Danny pats Sam on the shoulder, “chill, she’s good. Just a bit freaked”. Sam doesn’t seem to really believe him, but Maddie nods anyways, “he’s my son, even if I have no clue what to do with this or how he handles it”. Maddie shakes her head, remembering Danny’s earlier injuries, “you sure you're okay? The stitching?”.

Danny suddenly looks awkward as Sam turns on him, hands on hips, “ _stitching_ Danny? Really? When?”. Danny shrugs, “last night, that’s how she found out”. Sam smacks him over the head, “you moron”. While Tucker points a finger at him and smirks, “ten bucks says it was Skulker again”. Danny rolls his eyes and mouths “duh”. Tucker smirks, “got any presents for me?”. 

Danny blinks and facepalms before turning to his mom, “uh, you didn’t throw away that spike box and stuff, did you?”. Maddie shakes her head and points to the towel, all fourteen things exactly where he left them. Sam glares at Danny as Tucker runs over and starts toying with the devices, “Danny, you just left them out? Really? How many times am I going to have to call you a moron today?”.

Danny just shrugs, while Tucker shakes his head and turns to Danny, “dude, this thing should have been electrocuting you to high Hell. How did you not pass out from that? The little balls are nothing though”. Danny shrugs again, “determination and my unusually high tolerance for suffering?”. Maddie glares at him incredulously for that, “Danny? What? Again, I don’t know how, how you can be okay with any of this”. 

Sam blinks at Maddie, “okay yeah, you’re really freaked out. Danny is a self-sacrificial dumbass and pretty much launches himself at danger. We help him to not mess up or let him forget he’s still a damn human”.

Sam glares at Danny as he heads up to his room. She follows him behind while Tucker sits in the kitchen looking awkward. “Danny’s really damn durable Mrs. F, if you asked me I’d say it’s quite likely he’s near or completely indestructible. I mean he beat freaking Pariah in a one-on-one match, sure he was powered up but still. It took thirteen full-blown powerful ghosts to do that before”. Tucker shakes his head as he goes to head up the stairs, “to say he’s _overpowered_ , is an understatement”. 

Maddie is left with her chin in her hands, sitting at the kitchen table. “I mean, I always knew Phantom was strong, but is Danny really _that_ powerful? That’s insane. I don’t even know how, how he could handle his own body. If he’s really, like that”, Maddie sighs and shakily gets herself some more tea. “Yeah, I’m so not handling this very well. How are three, technically four, kids handling it so well?”.

Maddie gets jolted out of her thoughts as there’s now crashing upstairs, jolting out of her seat she goes to run up the stairs as Sam and Tucker start running down. “Now what?”, Sam and Tucker both shrug but look worried. Tucker yells over his shoulder, “it’s another weird-ass ghost from the future or something. Very yikes”. Maddie runs out after them, “does this seriously happen this often? What kind of life do you kids have?”. Maddie doesn’t catch Danny mutter, “life? What’s that?”. She and his friends do notice him plummet from the sky, as Fenton, though. Sam muttering, “uh, that can’t be good”, as all three run to yank off the metal clamp around Danny’s waist. Sam and Tucker look more annoyed while Maddie is rather panicked. She becomes even more panicked as all of them are suddenly in a weird clock place.

Danny glances around and mutters, “well, I’ve never seen this part of the Ghost Zone before”, not really seeming all that bothered. Maddie looks to him confused, “you’ve been to the Ghost Zone? Danny? What? Why? Were you safe?”. Danny rubs his neck, “I mapped the place out actually. And half of me belongs here, I’m automatically safe”, he tries not to seem too smug about that. Tucker meanwhile, throws necklaces on everyone and gets sad when nothing happens. While Sam mutters, “uh Danny, you aren’t going to like this. And frankly, I sure as Hell don’t. Future you is a _jerk_ ”. 

Danny walks up to the screen/portal and just gets excited over the cool-ass power, “is that some kind of ghostly wail? Awesome!”. Both Sam and Maddie glares at him, the glare being emphasised by his future self impaling a man with the front end of a tank. Danny blinks and rubs his neck awkwardly, “uh, I mean, if it wasn’t being used for evil”.

Sam just rolls her eyes at him, while Maddie is genuinely bothered, “um sweetie? Are you power-hungry or something? Because, uh, that’s just terrifying, the screen I mean”. Danny blinks a bit startled, but Tucker’s the one to respond, leaning towards Maddie, “it’s always cool when he gets a new power, I don’t really think there are downsides”. 

Maddie stares at him incredulously as Clockwork appears. Maddie only half listens to them go off about time and Danny trying to pick a fight with them, as she watches Dan Phantom wreak havoc on screen. Her practically whispering, “oh my god Danny, are you really capable of all this?”, Maddie can’t help but shiver at this man who’s more of a monster. Just as the trio all fly into her and through the portal.

Maddie looks around the destroyed Amity park frantically and shaking, as Danny gets slammed by a net. Suddenly the Red Huntress is there, shouting about how it’s Danny’s fault. Maddie just flops down on the ground and stares at the sky while Sam and Tucker jump to Danny’s defence. Dan’s cackling and cruel voice is what jolts her out of her stupor. She gets up and spins around to face Dan, only to be frozen on spot by him, along with Sam and Tucker. 

“Ah, now to what do I owe this little blast from the past?”, spotting their time medallions Dan continues, “ClockWork, meddling again”. Dan walks over to Maddie and grins, his face inches from hers and fangs showing, “well hello mother dearest, fancy seeing you again. Though I can’t let you stay here, after all I need you... _dead_ ”. Slowly curling his clawed fingers around her time medallion while Danny practically growls at him. Dan just chuckles and ignores the boy in favour of tormenting Maddie just a little, “you’re not like those two, their lives are expendable. But you, you need to die, so _he_ can become _me_ ”. With that, he yanks off Maddie’s time medallion.

Maddie staggers out from behind the Nasty Burger and just slumps against one of the destroyed walls. After sitting for a few seconds she vomits and passes out. And that’s how Sam and Tucker find her, after fleeing from the future. 

Tucker shakes his head, “I think she’s seen too much”, as he starts lightly slapping her cheeks. Maddie jolts and then jerks to get up, Sam and Tucker grab her arms to help her up. Maddie muttering all the while, “I, thanks, kids”, and not really wanting to be here. “I think, I’m going to go home and just rest”, the two nod at her. 

“We’ll make sure you get there and don’t worry about the Nasty Burger and what not. We’ll get it sorted out, it’s what we do”. 

Maddie stares at them a bit before nodding her head, letting them help her home. 

She doesn’t get to lay in bed long before Danny comes home. Sticking her head out of her room, “Danny! I really don’t know what to say. But, are you okay? Please tell me that, that, isn’t or wasn’t you?”. Danny raises an eyebrow at her and grins, “oh don’t worry. Everything is perfectly fine. Future’s going to be quite enjoyable, quite... _fulfilling_ ”, with that Danny grunts as he goes to his room. Maddie scrunches her eyebrows, “I don’t know? How I feel about that?”. 

Maddie closes her door slowly and later Danny sticks his head in her room. “Jazz fell asleep helping me study. Don’t worry though, I took care of her. No need to get her up, I’ll be off to school now”, Maddie can tell somethings not quite right and she feels a bit disturbed. Walking out of her room she watches Danny walk to school with a wide grin on his face, “well, everything must be okay if he’s smiling so much. But god that future was disturbing”.

Maddie manages to convince herself that everything’s okay, until Jazz wakes up, pretty much freaks out, and runs to the lab. Maddie comes down just in time to see the boomerang go into the portal, “Jazz? What’s going on? Why are you throwing things into the Ghost Zone?”. Jazz studies her for a bit, “mom, you said Danny put me to bed right?”. At Maddie’s nod Jazz continues, “that wasn’t Danny, mom. I threw the boomerang in because it’s keyed into Danny, so it will find him and deliver the message I attached. So he can get back here and beat that piece of shit”. Maddie goes wide-eyed and starts shaking a bit, “is he, big? Looks like Danny? Oh god”.

Jazz looks a bit confused but nods, “I’m guessing this has to do with Sam and Tucker basically dragging you home. Well, I’m taking the Fenton peeler and shooting that imposter”. Maddie watches as Jazz grabs the stuff and runs off but just before making it all the way up the stairs she looks over her shoulder, “Danny sure has a wildlife but he’s happy, you just need time to adjust. I can tell you’re pretty much having a breakdown but stopping him is more important right now. Sorry, mom”.

Jazz books off as Maddie stands and stares at the portal that started this all, “I-I don’t know if, if I hate you for changing him. But he, he loves it. I can tell, but _god_ , this is too much, this is _wrong_. This shouldn’t, be a kids life. Or half-life, or whatever it is”. Maddie sits on the floor and rubs her head, “this is too much. How? How is he so okay? Joking? Laughing? While he’s _half-dead!_ Christ, he’s half dead. And now this? God, how has he been okay”. By the time she’s done wading through the muddy waters of her mind and still not feeling any better or making any sense out of all this, the phone is ringing. 

“ _Hello Mrs. Fenton. Could you meet me at the Nasty Burger? And bring Daniel”_ , Maddie numbly agrees but when Danny comes home and Jazz doesn’t, she’s frankly _terrified_. It takes everything in her not to flee from this not-Danny in the GAV. She full well knows this is some kind of trap, but she just can’t do anything.

Dan snickers at the clearly shaken Maddie, being the evil bastard he is, he decides he’ll toy with her before blowing her up. Since it’s clear she knows it’s him, leaning his head over her seat in shotgun he whispers to her, “I’m _really_ going to enjoy this, a whole bunch of sad little toys strutting their time on stage waiting to be _toppled over_ ”, chuckling darkly, “and you know what the funniest part is? That _child_ will make it back in time to have our little showdown. And just like when I was his age, he’ll lose, he’ll be too weak to save you and he’ll watch you all get _blown to bits_ ”.

Dan runs his hand through Maddie’s hair harshly which Jack doesn’t notice, Dan chuckles again with a wide grin, “he’ll get your blood and guts splattered _all over him_ , watching wide-eyed as his whole life goes up in _flames_. And don’t you worry your little head about little Jazz, I’ll make sure to blow her up too. Sam and Tucker will be the side dishes of course”. Dan drags his hand down to her throat and squeezes hard enough to hurt but not to kill, while Maddie tears up and grabs at his hand, “and then comes the best part, when the loss is just _too much_ for him to bear and his humanity is _torn out._ Well that’s when he becomes me, he’ll murder his human half. Tear out all human Danny’s intestines and splatter his flesh across the walls. It’s a grand spectacle, I would know, _I was there_ ”.

Dan lets go of her neck as he pats the whimpering Maddie on the head and sits on the armrest of her seat, blocking Jack‘s view of her; leaving him none the wiser. Dan side-eyes her, grinning before he leans over, putting his face right up against hers, “my future, his future, it can’t be changed. You created us and I’m sure the world doesn’t thank you for that. But I sure do, maybe I would feel sad about this if I had any humanity left but I killed that _a long time ago._ But don’t fret too much, I’ll destroy every ghost too. I know how you _loathe_ _them_ , must just tear you apart that you house one. That the most evil, powerful, and ultimately world-ending one, is _your own son_ ”.

Maddie is on the verge of passing out, shaking and crying as Jack finally pulls up to the Nasty Burger. As Jack gets out first Dan smirks, grabbing Maddie by the hair he tosses her out onto the ground. But Dan is pretending to help her up when Jack looks back, “she tripped, don’t worry. I’ve got her”. Jack looks worried but seeing the pissed-off teacher he opts to talk to Mr. Lancer as he’s sure his aloof but caring son will help his wife. Dan can’t help but snicker, “what an utter moron, but he does leave the _biggest mess”_.

Smirking down at the shaken and slightly out of it Maddie, “you should be glad, for once father is actually good for something”. Dan accents his words with a cold empty laugh. Once Dan basically drags Maddie up to Mr. Lancer, he drops her unceremoniously onto the ground. She hits the ground with a loud thunk and can’t bring herself to so much as move a finger. Lancer goes to open his mouth just as Jazz shows up and yells, “that’s not Danny!”.

Maddie watches numbly and barely in focus as her young Danny is peeled away revealing the monster he becomes. Jack goes to attack him but Dan throws Jack, Lancer, and the just arrived Sam and Tucker, against the sauce boiler. Promptly doing the same to Jazz as she tries to punch him. “That won’t work I’m afraid”. 

Dan slams gags against them as he laughs. Walking up to Maddie, he picks her up single-handed and lifts her chin up with the other hand to make her face him as she dangles limp, “a leading ghost expert and you could never even figure it out on your own. You had to be told, you had to see it, isn’t that just so pathetic?”.

Dan licks his forked tongue across her face, watching and grinning at the others all the while. Before speaking again as he walks Maddie’s limp form to the sauce boiler, “Ancients you humans are so easy to break and it really is so much fun”. 

Dan gets blasted by Danny just as he finishes tying up and gagging Maddie, but Maddie catches Dan’s knowing grin and feels no hope at seeing her Danny come flying up to them with words of comfort. “Don’t worry, I’ll never be like that”, turning to Lancer, “I guess this explains a lot huh?”. Just as he gets blasted by Dan.

Maddie can do nothing but watch and shake as she listens to Danny tell off and insult Dan, and listens to Dan talk about his inevitability. Even when she sees Dan’s shock at Danny using his ghostly wail and Dan winding up in a thermos, she still doesn’t feel any hope and just wants everything to just _stop_ , because it’s all just _too much_ and she doesn’t even know what finger to move. She watches with tears in her eyes as Danny trips and fails to save them, knowing Dan’s words to be true.

* * *

Maddie suddenly feels very odd as she’s thinking while laying on the floor of the lab, sitting up as she feels a sense of intense dread and fear ripple through her and then disappear just as suddenly. Maddie glares at the portal, closing it and blaming it for the creepy feelings. Opting to go get started on supper to get away from ghost everything. 

She’s standing at the table plating food as Jazz and Danny come home, Maddie feels the need to ask, “uh Danny? You, um, you?”. Danny nods and sighs as he sits down, “everything’s okay mom, I can’t really tell you what happened without messing with the time stream but that future is _fully dead_ ”. Jazz shakes her head at Danny’s joke but Maddie just nods as she hands out the food. 

* * *

Maddie sits waiting on Danny’s bed for him to come home, fiddling with his blankets and smoothing them repeatedly. Danny shoots her a curious look as he phases into his room, “I’m guessing you want to talk?”. Maddie nods but can’t help but feel a little disturbed by his Phantom form at the moment, unremembered trauma affecting her view.

Danny picks up on her discomfort and promptly transforms while landing on his bed, “I know this might be a bit much to ask right now, but try to get used to me as Phantom. Phantom’s me and I know the whole ‘evil future’ thing but that’s not going to happen anymore. I know I’m strong and that my strength is by nature dangerous, but I’m good and I’m staying good”, nodding and sighing, “though I won’t lie and say Dan didn’t freak me out. But I’m sticking my tongue out to him and his everything, so it’s okay”. Maddie shakes her head, “it’s just terrifying Danny, and I just don’t get how, how you could be so. _Okay_. I don’t know if I can handle your life being the way it is”.

Danny nods and one arm hugs his mom, “it doesn’t scare me because it _is me_. It’s hard to be fearful of something that is a constant in your life, something you are so utterly used to in every way. My powers, being half-ghost, how strong I am; is no different to me than being able to see or walk. Me being freaked out by being a ghost, at this point, would be like me being freaked out by being a human. Halfa is just what I am, why would I fear it? It’s just me? And sure my life is rather crazy, but it’s what I’m used too”, chuckling faintly, “I’d probably be bored, antsy, and feel horribly guilty if I couldn’t do what I do, couldn’t protect the city or save people. Hell, that’s what I couldn’t handle, that would destroy me”, pausing to squeeze her a little tighter, “but I get it if my life is a bit much, for anyone really. So I get it if you don’t want to get too involved in what I do, but I won’t stop doing it. So I guess you need to figure out how much you want to know and how much you want to be involved. You'll always be my mom though”.

Maddie’s crying at this point and leaning into Danny’s strong hug, “you’ll always be, be my son. I’ve, I've got a lot to-to think about. But, I love you Danny and I hope you stay happy”. Danny nods as he rubs his mom’s arm, “I love you too mom and I fully intend to stay happy. I’ll let you into my crazy half-life as much as you want, you just have to ask”. Maddie nods as she falls asleep; Danny content to just let her sleep on his bed.

**End.**

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: In which a child is able to handle a situation their mentor had no idea how to handle.


End file.
